A familiar mask
by rosieh1992
Summary: When the Doctor and Rose land in the Devon countryside, they come across a problem that's all too familiar
1. Chapter 1

It was 1am and Rose once again found herself wandering alone around the Powell estate deep in thought, unable to sleep. She had patrolled the estate and its surrounding areas every night for nearly two weeks, hoping, searching. Giving up hope was never an option for her.  
The Doctor had said he would be back in five minutes tops when he flew off in his blue police box twelve days ago. Where he was going and why, he did not say. All Rose knew is that he was late, probably the one thing Rose disliked about him. A man like him doesn't deserve to be alone, and she had become accustomed to his company, no matter how strange he was.  
Since his departure, she had become restless, as she had become unadapted to staying in one place for more than a day or two. Although she knew he would be returning for her - she had a key to the Tardis - she was still worried. What if something bad had happened to him?  
"Where are you, Doctor?" Rose whispered to herself. "I need you"

* * *

Quietly closing the front door of the flat behind her, Rose heard her mum bashing about in the kitchen. It was rare that Jackie Tyler ever did anything silently, even at this time of night.  
"Mum, what're you doing up at this hour?" Rose asked, entering the kitchen and opening the fridge for a snack.  
" Blooming hell Rose! You scared the bleeding daylights out of me!" Jackie exclaimed, almost dropping the mug she was holding, splashing tea onto the counter. "And if you must know, Tony was over. He left about ten minutes ago"  
"Tony? I didn't know he'd come round" Rose turned to her mum, confused.  
"Yes love. He came over earlier this evening. You were in your own little world, so I didn't want to disturb you" When Rose just shrugged in acknowledgement, Jackie continued. "I bumped into that Mickey of yours before. He asked if you'd gone off with the Doctor again"  
"How many times must I tell you, he's not my Mickey! We broke up ages ago. And no, I'm still here. I still haven't heard or seen anything" Rose bit into a slice of bread in annoyance.  
"Well, you can't wait for him forever love. I know it's only been two weeks since he went off and left you but you need to get yourself a job just in case he doesn't reappear in that box of his. And find yourself a man too if you refuse to have anything to do with Mickey."  
"I'm not giving up on him mum! He hasn't left me, I know he'll be back. Just drop it, please. I'm not in the mood for this."  
"There's always that boy who works in the newsagents. He seems to have taken a liking to you, and he's quite handsome"  
"I'm not getting a new boyfriend! The Doctor will be back, just you wait!" Rose shouted before storming out of the kitchen and slamming her bedroom door behind her, leaving Jackie shaking her head. She could never understand her daughters love for that man.

* * *

On the other side of the country, residents of a small village in Devon flocked to a nearby field. It was a night that many of the residents had been waiting for years to see. It was time for the largest meteor shower in this part of the world for a century. Even though the good proportion of he crowd knew they couldn't be harmed, they found they had to comfort the younger members of the crowd who had stayed up past their bedtime in order to watch this phenomenon.  
As the last of the crowd settled on blankets and cushions laid out on the grass and made themselves comfortable, gasps of amazement were heard from those who were already watching the sky. Above them, the first streaks of light lit up the sky as they watched in awe, smiles forming on their faces. Many were still deep in conversation, yet were unable to tear their eyes away.  
Without warning, a sudden bright white light flared up from behind the crowd, and was almost immediately followed by a crash as the ground shook heavily beneath them. The barely audible screams were followed by yelling as people scrambled to their feet, checking whether everyone was alright. In the adjacent field, surrounded by scattered fires caused by the impact, was a crater. no more than 30 or 40 meters wide, and no more than 5 meters deep. The object that had caused the impact was just visible above the rim. In the darkness, it was difficult to make out what exactly it was.  
Ignoring the cautious words of those around them, a few curious onlookers jogged towards the next field to examine the crater and its contents. Those who stayed behind turned to their neighbours and started reassuring one another that it was a normal occurrence during meteor showers.  
As the investigators came close to the rim, one by one, they all stopped. Cries of confusion could be heard briefly before being muffled. In the dim light cast by the fires surrounding the figures, the shocked onlookers saw two fall to their knees, clutching their throats as if in pain. Seconds later, something was seen to be forcing itself out of their mouths, and almost instantly started transforming, or even fusing to, their faces. It was over almost as suddenly as it started. The five figures around the crater dropped like stones, not moving.  
Not knowing what else to do, the scared and those with young children - which made up a large percentage of the crowd - hurried in the opposite direction to the crater, back to the safety of the village. The remaining few hurried forward to see if there was anything they could do to assist the still figures.  
Those who had opted to go home had barely left the first field before they heard yells of terror and confusion, quickly being muffled just like before. Whatever horror was happening, none of them wanted to go back to find out. But one thing they could all agree on was that they had heard each of the victims say one word, a word which would haunt them till morning.  
'Mummy'.


	2. Chapter 2

Two days later, Rose was woken up early by Jackie's raised voice in the hallway.  
"How dare you just leave her like that with no explanation! She was worried sick! Every night she's been wondering round, looking for you and you just saunter back like this?"  
"Hey, I said I'm sorry!" said a more than familiar voice. Jumping out of bed, not caring what she looked like, Rose ran out of her room and straight into the arms of the older man. Releasing her grip, she pushed him away and gave him a gentle yet firm slap.  
"Where the hell have you been?" She said, not quite yelling.  
"I'll explain later. But right now, we have to go. There's something I need to see to, and may need your help"  
"You think you can swan back in here, and think that she'll go back with you? No chance!" Jackie shouted.  
"Mum, leave it" Rose muttered, pushing the Doctor out of the front door and grabbing her coat. "I'll be back soon"  
Closing the door behind her Rose heard her mother call out to her. Paying no attention to it, she followed the Doctor down the corridor towards the stairs. "You could've stayed you know"  
Rose realised how much she had missed his northern accent. "You try living with my mother She'd drive the sanest person up the wall"  
"Fair point" his smile was obvious in the way he spoke.  
"Where're we going anyway?"  
"No idea. The Tardis picked up a signal, I've been having trouble translating it. Thought you may like to come with to see where it's coming from"  
"You know me, always up for an adventure" Rose smiled, taking the Doctors hand.  
"Fantastic!"

* * *

The Tardis gears ground to a halt as the Doctor flicked a switch on the control panel, leaving the control room quiet until Rose piped up.  
"So where are we then?" she said, grinning with excitement. She always looked forward to a new adventure.  
"The display says modern day Devon, about a mile or two outside the village of North Tawton" came the reply.  
"Not exactly Barcelona then" Rose said, feeling a bit let down. "Where did this signal come from then?"  
"No idea yet. Lets find out"  
The Doctor ran to the door, with Rose at his heals. Pulling open the door of the Tardis, they stepped out onto a windy field. The faint smell of manure hit their nostrils, and the only noise heard over the wind was the tractor ploughing the neighbouring field. The field that they found themselves on sloped, and was empty save for an old looking oak tree which hung over the hedge border. Nothing could be seen that could give a hint to what had lead them here.  
"C'mon, lets explore" The Doctor said, taking Roses hand and leading her up the field. "There's bound to be something round here that's strange"  
"Apart from the locals you mean?" Rose joked.  
Climbing the style into the field above the one they landed in, they clambered up the last part of the slope to find the view in this direction much more interesting to the one behind them.  
In the next field over stood several of huge white tents, surrounded by wire fences which seemed as though they had been hastily assembled. Topping the fences was a strip of barbed wire for extra security. At the two visible corners stood guards holding rifles.  
"I have a feeling that this is a bit more than a case of mad cow disease" Rose commented.  
Not responding, the Doctor looked beyond the tents to the surrounding scenery. Not far away lay North Tawton, a small town home to about 1,000 people. The town clock was visible, protruding over the rooftops on the buildings.  
Without a word, the Doctor, still clutching Roses hand, started the walk through the fields towards the town.  
"How come we're not exploring the tents?" Rose asked curiously.  
"We don't know what's in there. Could be dangerous for all we know"  
"When has a little danger ever stopped you?" Rose smiled.  
Returning the smile, the Doctor replied with "Never usually. But there's no harm in getting a bit of background knowledge first. It's time to meet the locals"

* * *

Making their way up the street into the village, Rose noticed that they were getting more than their fair amount of weird looks from the locals. On the odd occasion someone passed them, Rose gave a friendly 'hi', just to get a look of suspicion in response.  
"Well, everyone round here sure seems lovely" she said, getting yet another dodgy look, this time from an elderly man walking his dog.  
"Must be whatever's in the tent must be causing people to act unusual, making them suspicious of anyone new"  
"What, like mind control?"  
"Possibly. But more likely human nature. Whatever is back there, it's top secret, and we could be behind it all as far as anyone here knows"  
"How do you expect us to get any information out of them if they don't trust us?"  
By this time, they had reached the centre of the town. On the other side of the square, the doors of the town hall stood open. Gentle country music could be heard coming from the building.  
"No better way to meet people than to gatecrash a party. C'mon"  
As they entered the hall, they were greeted by an elderly lady with short white hair.  
"Hello dears. I've never seen you two around before" she noted with a kindly smile.  
"We're just passing through actually, and thought we'd have a look round the village. House hunting" The Doctor explained. "I'm Doctor Smith, this is my companion, Rose" he held up an open battered wallet with a single piece of paper inside. To Rose, who knew it was psychic paper, it was blank. To the elderly lady however, it probably showed official looking credentials.  
"Ohh, a proper doctor. Very impressive" smiled the lady. "I'm Carol Rowett, I run these monthly gatherings for the locals."  
"You must do a good job, it seems popular" Rose said kindly.  
"Yes dear. Most of the village comes. It's a way to discus the latest news and goings on"  
"What, like what's happening up in the field full of tents?" The Doctor asked.  
Carol opened her mouth as if to reply before closing it again straight away. She was suddenly finding it hard to make eye contact with either of them.  
"Tell us everything you know" The Doctor said in a low, comforting voice.  
Finally, Carol looked back up, her eyes brimming. "You say you're a doctor. Can you help?" she managed to whisper before the tears rolled down her cheeks.


	3. Chapter 3

"I don't think I could ever get used to retirement homes" Jefferson said, taking a puff of his cigarette.  
"You'll be living in a place like this one day" His work colleague - Brown - smiled.  
"Huh, fat chance. Don't think I could ever come back to one after this. So glad it's my last shift, I never have to come here again" He stubbed out the cigarette in the ashtray and followed his colleague and long time friend inside.  
"You really think that they'll let you leave without any trouble? There must be some kind of confidentiality on this?"  
"You don't think the whole of that goddamn village is talking bout it? Words probably spread by now to other places. Even this set of locals are getting suspicious. We did turf out their elderly after all" Jefferson halted to gaze into a room filled with six hospital beds, each of them occupied by still figures. "No, there's no keeping this quiet"  
"At least there's no chance of any of them escaping. They can't even move" Brown commented from behind Jefferson's right shoulder.  
"I wouldn't be so sure of that" the smaller man muttered, before rapping hard on the window with his knuckles. Inside, the six patients sat up in unison and turned their heads to face the men at the window.  
"Don't worry, they're harmless" Jefferson said as Brown took a step back in alarm. "They haven't left their beds since they've been here"  
With one last look, he resumed walking. Brown lingered for a moment to stare at the infected before starting down the corridor himself.

* * *

The Doctor and Rose sat in silence as Carol told her tale. She had led them across the road and into an upstairs room of the local pub so they could have privacy. At first, she had found it hard to talk, stuttering and getting her words mixed up. But after a few attempts, with some encouragement from Rose, she finally found the words to tell the pair exactly what she knew.  
The tents and fencing were put up during the night, within 12 hours of the collision. The guards arrived not long after. Once the police had done their rounds, group of unknown people had come and questioned those who had been present that night and managed to leave it unscathed. Who they worked for, they wouldn't say. It was still a mystery what had fallen to Earth, as none of the guards would say.  
"All everyone knows for sure is that some people were hurt, and were taken to the retirement home over on Okehampton. They wouldn't even say if they were dead" Carol choked up again and a tear slid down her cheek.  
"Hey, it's ok, I'm sure they're fine" Rose soothed, reaching across the small table and taking the old ladies hands in hers and giving Carol a smile, which she shakily returned.  
Through the tale, The Doctor had sat in silence, staring at the tabletop. As the story unfolded, his frown intensified, and a dark look entered his eyes.  
"So, what do you think?" Rose asked him, nudging his shin with her foot to get his attention.  
"That it's probably just a meteorite, no arm done. The people who are injured are probably just in shock, or have burns from fires caused by the impact" He said, raising his head with a sudden cheery smile on his face.  
"Why would there be tents and fencing all around it if it was just a meteorite? Isn't that a bit, you know, over the top? Especially with the guards" Rose questioned.  
"Who knows what kind of microbes it could have on it? Some unknown to human kind, and probably not dangerous" The Doctors sudden cheeriness proved to be contagious, as Carol had started to perk up a bit. Turning to her, The Doctor said "I'll have a look at the patients, and report back to you"  
"Thank you, young man. I do hope you can make sense of it all for us" She smiled as all three of them stood and made their way outside.  
As Carol made her way back into the Town Hall, Rose and The Doctor started back on the long walk back towards the Tardis. This time, they received fewer weird looks. Maybe being seen with one of the locals had earned them some trust from others.  
"So is that what it is then? Just a normal meteorite collision?" Rose was slightly disappointed by this, as she was expecting some kind of alien invasion.  
"Does this not seem familiar to you?" The Doctor frowned. When Rose shook her head, he continued. "Something hit's the Earth with a bang, and overnight it becomes heavily guarded. There are people involved who should be in a hospital, but instead are taken somewhere completely different. Does that not seem weird?"  
"Hold on, is this a repeat of what happened with Nancy and her son?"  
"It seems it. Did you hear what Carol was saying under her breath when she was trying to start telling us what happened?"  
Rose was silent for a moment trying to remember. Suddenly she realised "Mummy. She was whispering mummy. But how? You reprogrammed all of the nano-thingies to recognize humans"  
"Nanogenes. Obviously some weren't there when I did it and were taken back into space somehow." By this point, Rose had to almost jog to keep up with The Doctors pace.  
"This all stated with Jack. He crashed the ambulance into Earth, so do you recon he's involved again?"  
Jack, a reformed crook who once claimed to be a time agent, had left them in Cardiff several months back to rest and do his own thing. Although Rose missed him, she knew he'd be joining them again. The Tardis was surprisingly quiet with Jack not constantly cracking jokes and telling stories.  
"He didn't start it, not this time. How it found its way here in the first place is a different matter entirely. Who do you think was it who recruited a couple of friends to poke around to get information?" The Doctor said, giving Rose a knowing look.


	4. Chapter 4

Back in the temporary hub - a disused camper van containing all of the essential equipment for his job - Jack Harkess attempted to process what he and his colleagues had discovered on their trip to North Tawton. None of it made any sense. He thought he had stopped this during the war.  
He had sent his colleagues back to Cardiff to work on another case back there. Anyway, he thought he could work this better alone, he felt responsible for it somehow. Rousing himself from his thoughts, he stood and pulled on his coat. It was about time he went to see what he could do.

* * *

The whine of the sonic was followed by the click of the lock springing open. It was late at night, and the retirement home had been locked several hours before to prevent any unwanted night time guests. Opening the door slowly, the Doctor walked over the threshold, beckoning to Rose to follow him.  
"These places have always freaked me out" Rose whispered as they explored the building. "So many old people gathered together in one building"  
"Not this one" The Doctor replied, stopping at a window, which looked into a dark, overcrowded room. "C'mon, let's meet the residents"  
Entering the room, the pair discovered that every bed in the 'ward' was filled by a still figure. Even in the dim light from outside, it was obvious that the face had been replaced by a gas mask. Choosing a patient, The Doctor whipped out his sonic and started examining her. Frowning, he straightened up, and moved onto the next one to do the same.  
"Well?" Rose asked. "What's the diagnosis?"  
"Exactly the same as last time, right down to the cut on the back of the hand." Pacing the room, the Doctor seemed deep in thought. "It just doesn't make sense"  
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET IN HERE?" a man shouted from the open door, as the lights were suddenly flicked on. The unexpected voice caused Rose to jump, and bump into one of the beds, causing the occupant, and all of the other patients around the room to sit up in their beds. The two men at the door stormed in and grabbed The Doctor and Rose in order to remove them from the premises.  
As they start back towards the door - Rose and the Doctor being shoved in front of the two men - they're brought to a halt by the patients leaving their beds in unison, with a call of 'mummy'.  
"I thought you said that they couldn't leave their beds" whispered the taller Home employee.  
"Don't let them touch you" The Doctor ordered, as the figures closed in around them.  
"How're we meant to do that Einstein? We're surrounded!" shouted Jefferson.  
Before the Doctor could reply, a weird buzzing noise sounded from the doorway, accompanies by a blue light. All at once, the masked figures dropped to the ground, revealing Jack standing in he doorway, smiling.  
"Good to see you, Doc"

* * *

"So what you're saying is that these…things are caused by alien medicine stuff?" Brown asked as his partner sat in silence, still trying to process the information.  
"Well they're not exactly human are they?" The Doctor said, rolling his eyes.  
"Doctor" Rose warned before turning to Jefferson. "You ok?"  
Roses soft tone seemed to wake him from his trance. " Hmm? Yeah, it's just a bit too much you know"  
"Tell me about it" Rose replied with a smile before turning back to The Doctor. "So how do we fix this?"  
"What I want to know is how it came back in the first place" He replied, staring intently at Jack, who didn't meet his gaze.  
"You can't stick this one on me. The only explanation was that some of the nanogenes followed me onto my ship before you re-programmed them. After all they are invisible until they get to work"  
After Jack appeared, The Doctor had led the team back to the Tardis and explained everything to Brown and Jefferson. Although it took them a while, they seemed to accept what was happening. Jack had filled The Doctor in on what he had found out from the locals, and even how he had got passed the guards.  
"There's nothing at the site to help us, there's just the meteor."  
"Then why keep it out of bounds?" Rose quizzed.  
"Probably made the connection somehow, or guessed at it" The Doctor replied as he started flicking switches, starting the Tardis engine. "You're not all stupid, you lot"  
"Oh thanks" Roses sarcastic reply was greeted by a toothy smile from The Doctor. "Where're we going anyway?"  
"Back to the retirement home. Want to have a look round a bit more - the nanogenes must have followed those they helped" The engines groaned for a second or two more before The Doctor stopped them with a flick of a switch. "Here we go"  
Striding forward, The Doctor once again too the lead before flinging open the Tardis door, just to stop in his tracks. The rest of the group heard a soft "Ah" before seeing what the problem was.  
A wall of the gas masked figures surrounded the Tardis, so close to the door that The Doctor was lucky not to have ran straight into them.  
"Get back!" The Doctor yelled, attempting to shut the doors of the Tardis only for it to resist as the figures tried to enter.  
"They're far more confident than last time!" Rose said, running back to the console.  
"Rose, flick the switch!" The Doctor yelled, still pushing against the Tardis doors now with the help of Brown and Jack.  
"Which one?" Rose called back, staring at a whole panel of switches on the console.  
"The black one!" The Doctor shouted, the effort of keeping the doors shut was showing. Once he saw Rose reach for the switch, he yelled "Open the doors!"  
"What? But they'll get in!" Brown yelled.  
"Trust me. Stop pushing and stand back!" Releasing their force on the door, The Doctor, Jack and Brown ran forward, out of reach of the gasmask figures. "Rose, now!"  
Flicking the switch, Rose turned and saw the first of the figures enter the Tardis. Almost immediately however, glowing orange orbs floated down from above, and swarmed the figures. Within seconds of this, those leading the crowed dropped, as if all life had been sucked from them, all traces of mask gone. Within a minute, the nanogenes had vanished.  
After several seconds of silence, Jefferson finally spoke "Are they dead?"  
Before The Doctor could answer, the people of the floor started moving. Running forward to help them up and to remove them from the Tardis before they freaked out, Jack and Rose smiled with relief.

* * *

"How did you know what to do?" Jack asked the Doctor a few hours later, after bidding farewell to Brown and Jefferson.  
"I have my own nanogenes on board the Tardis, ones that actually know what humans look like. Should have thought of that before really"  
"And what about the ones that caused this? Are they still out there?" Rose asked, a frown forming on her face.  
"Not any more" The Doctor smiled, pressing one final button on the console. "Rounded them up, and brought them here. Reprogrammed them so they could be used again here."  
"Good thinking, Doc. I better head off, things to do" Jack said, standing from his perch on the chair.  
"Sure you can't stay?" Rose asked, disappointed.  
"As much as I would love to, someone has to tell my lot what happened. They'd be lost without me. See you soon though right?" With one last hug to each, Jack left the Tardis, shutting the door softly behind him.  
"Recon we'll see him again?" Rose asked, gazing towards the door.  
"Of course. Can't get rid of that man" The Doctor replied.  
Rousing herself from her thoughts, Rose hopped out of The Doctors way. "Where to now?"  
"How about Barcelona? Great planet."  
"What's happening there?"  
"Who knows?" With a wide grin at Rose, The Doctor started the engines once more.


End file.
